I'm putting together some oak sideboards for my F2. I want to take the router and round off the edges of the boards. My question: How do I do this without getting the burn marks on the oak? Or, if I get some - how do I get rid of them?
I'll only be using clear urethane and no stain to hide them.
Thanks

 

1)a cheaply made or dull bit is the biggest culprit. Use carbide they cost about 3 times more the El Cheapo bits but are worth it

2)It will burn only if you move the wood to slow past the router bit. keeping it in the same place generates heat.

I made oak stake sides for my truck last year with no burns from the carbide bit

I used a router mouted to a router table-the bit had a stop bead on it so I didn't need a fense

Todd

 

Burn marks are more often caused by the bit pilot guide than the cutting edge. I prefer using a router table than freehanding the router for rounding. I can then use the T square on the table to rout the short edges all with the same setup. I set the fence on the table so that I can slip a sheet of paper between the edge of the board and the cutter pilot, that way the pilot never actually contacts the wood. I rounded over the edges on a number of oak boards that way recently without a single burn mark. The display cases in my store were all faced with 1x4 clear fir that I rounded over all the edges on the router table, over 200 4' pieces and no burn marks on a wood that burns easier than oak. If you have a router and no router table, run right out and get one, they're not expensive but get the best and largest you can afford. Using one over freehanding is like the difference between using a skill saw and a table saw for accurate sawing. If you insist on freehanding the router, run a strip of quality masking tape down the side of the board to run the pilot against. The cutter will cut the tape along the edge along with the wood, just don't overlap it onto the face of the board, and keep the router moving at all times.
Hint: If you use an aluminum router table, be sure to give it a good paste waxing first (I use the yellow can Simonize paste wax available in any grocery or hardware store) or it will leave black aluminum streaks on the wood.

 

I agree with Snipa and Ax-a router table is the way to go with a good sharp bit. AX's suggestion of the paper between the pilot and the board sounds good too.

If you still manage to get a burn mark, the only way I know of to get rid of it is to sand it out or adjust the router and make another cut to make more sawdust.

Good Luck!

 

also, dont try to do the cut in one pass, take a rough 1st pass, then 2 or 3 finer passes.

 

Got the truck
Got the wood
Got the router
No got the table
No got the $ to spare to buy one
I'll try the tape trick on a scap piece tonight.
Thanks Gents

 

I'm in the same boat.. no table.
What bit is it for the stock sills to fit in? I know they have tons of different kinds of bits.. but what style did good old Ford use?
I had the original wood to look at but its so rotted that I can't tell..
Thanks

 

They also make router bits with a bearing as the top piot guide. I'm lucky and have both a Woodworkers Supply and a WoodCraft farily close to me.

I use a router table for this sort of thing also

http://woodworker.com/cgi-bin/home*****
http://www.woodcraft.com/

Good luck with it
Bobby

 

A servicable router table = 29.99 from Sears:
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=00 926460000&subcat=Router+Tables+%26+Attachments

 

It's all about the bit. You can use the crappiest router table in the world and you can get a good profile if you use a quality bit. Just make sure you secure the table and test the setup on scrap before you cut the good stuff.

If the bit has a ball bearing on the tip, you don't necessarily even have to run the board against the fence. Just use the fence for safety but run the workpiece along the bearing.

 

I'm repeating just incase it got looked over

 

I don't know what Ford used, but I believe the replacement wood kits use just a plain rabbet. Cutting that big a rabbet with a router would be time consuming as it would need to be done in multiple passes. A dado cutter head in a table saw would make more sense.

 

OK thanks for the advice..

Now to steal a table saw!

"Thou shall steal tools from your neighbors garage.."
Jeff 24:16

 

Thou shall quietly sneak over to the neighbors garage and use them....let him store them

Bobby

 

Another good site for router bits, and then some.

http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/